Strong winds help Denmark set wind energy world record

Denmark is on track to meet its target of generating 50% of its electricity from wind power by 2020, says an official


Afp January 18, 2016
FILE PHOTO

COPENHAGEN: Danish wind turbines set a new world record by generating nearly half of all the electricity consumed by the Scandinavian country in 2015, an official from state-owned Energinet.dk said on Monday.

"It was much windier in 2015 than during an average year," spokeswoman Hanne Storm Edlefsen said.

Wind energy production capacity had grown "a little bit, but that is not what explains the big increase," she added.

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Peaking at 42.1% for 2015, the number notched up from 39.1% of electricity consumption in 2014, when Denmark was followed by Portugal at 24% and then Spain at 20.4%, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Denmark was on track to meet its target of generating 50% of its electricity from wind power by 2020, Edlefsen said.

Wind energy production had actually exceeded electricity consumption 16% of the time in western Denmark, where most of the country's wind turbines are located, Energinet.dk said.

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"If, for some hours, we have surplus wind energy, the producers sell it to consumers in Norway, Sweden and Germany," spokesman Carsten Vittrup said in a statement.

"Conversely, we buy hydroelectric power from Norway, solar energy from Germany and power station electricity from Sweden, when it is advantageous," he added.

COMMENTS (1)

ColinMegson | 8 years ago | Reply Wow - they've got a whole 5,030 MW installed capacity operating at 25% capacity factor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windpowerin_Denmark Over the 25 year design life of everyone of those turbines they will deliver 275.4 billion kWh of low carbon electricity. Hinkley Point C's 3,260 MW Nuclear Power Plant, on a site of 0.67 sq km and operating at 90% capacity factor, will deliver 1,542.3 billion kWh over its 60 year design life, at figures quoted between £18 and £24.5 billion - it's also low-carbon electricity. So Hinkley would deliver that ~18% of its output (275.4 billion kWh) for about £4 billion. I wonder what the whole Danish wind farm fleet cost? We never ever seem to get that kind of information quoted - it's always % of this and % of that.
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